Fbi's Numbers Echo Florida's: Crime Is Down

Robbery, burglary and larceny, the crimes that most affect people, fell dramatically in three of Broward County's four largest cities last year, according to FBI statistics.

The overall crime rate for Fort Lauderdale fell 21.6 percent between 1998 and 1999. In Hollywood, the decline was 11.6 percent; in Coral Springs, 8.3 percent.

Pembroke Pines also showed declines in robbery and burglary but an overall increased crime rate of 2 percent. The FBI numbers, however, were not adjusted for the rapid population growth in Pembroke Pines, and that adjustment translates to a drop of 4.3 percent from 1998.

The downward trend confirms numbers released in March by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that showed the state crime rate at a 28-year low in 1999. It was the lowest since police departments started keeping statistics in 1971.

Criminologists have cited a host of factors for the national decline, including low unemployment rates, increased police patrolling of neighborhoods, longer prison sentences for violent criminals, crackdowns on illegal guns and a drop in the use of crack cocaine.

Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne credits the good economy, crime-prevention efforts and community cooperation.

"Officers are getting very sophisticated in learning to prevent crime," he said. "People who five or 10 years ago would be reluctant to help our deputies are going out of their way to help us with information.

"It's easy to get caught up in this decline, but the truth of the matter is that you judge policing by how safe people feel at work, on the streets and in the stores. I think people are feeling safer because there is an increased law enforcement presence."

How do residents perceive the continuing decline in crime?

"It's much better now than it was a few years ago," said Pauline Williams, 58, as she sat in front of her northwest Fort Lauderdale home on Monday. "I don't see as much drug dealing or people just wandering around the streets."

Williams, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years, said part of the reason is community involvement.

"We've been helping some of the kids with problems and pointing out the real problem people to the police," she said.

Mel Stone, a vice president of the Broward Sheriff's Office District 7 Community Council in Tamarac, which has a heavy senior citizen population, said, "Absolutely, we feel safer."

Stone said 1,000 volunteers who participate in citizen street patrols, Broward Sheriff's deputies on bicycles and community watch programs have all contributed to a greater sense of safety.

"The feedback we get from our residents is a more secure feeling in the neighborhood. Worrisome residential crime, break-ins in houses and cars, has really gone down. I personally feel good and safe. There are more cops and more patrol cars on the streets, and it's a big help."

Robert Young, president of Chapel Trail homeowners association in Pembroke Pines, said about 3,700 members of his development joined the city's crime watch.

"Overall, most of us feel safe here," Young said. "We wanted to do our part, so we joined in mass."

And Roy Gold, a city activist and Coral Springs resident for more than 20 years, said, "I felt pretty safe I attribute it to a combination of great police work and a great economy. I think we have plenty of programs for youth and I think the sheer fact that there are jobs out there for young people, giving them the opportunity to earn money, helps."

On a national level, Sandy Newman, president of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national organization of sheriffs, police, prosecutors and crime victims, said the decline is real and lives are being saved but crime could be cut even more.

"After-school programs for kids, quality child care and greater emphasis on child abuse prevention could cut crime another 50 percent," Newman said. "We're doing much better, but there is a long way to go."

Not everyone is convinced things have changed, however.

Pamela Gore, president of a civic association in the Liberia neighborhood of Hollywood, said she doesn't measure crime by statistics but by what she sees in her neighborhood.

"If we can get rid of some of this drug dealing it would be a lot safer. If they keep [offenders] locked up, I'll see a change," Gore said.